Born in Chicago, IL
Lives and works in Washington, DC
Inspired by ways we transform ourselves, I work at creating
glass pieces that have both visual and spatial depth. By layering and
fusing sheets of glass with overlapping elements, I aim for an interactive
commentary using simple forms with intricate glass powder drawings.
These works are a continuation of my frit powder drawings that I have
been working on for some time now. The layered compositions allow me
to create unusual relationships within the imagery.
Using crushed glass powder to create drawings, I can affect
the elements of light, color and also sequence. The glass powder is
sifted onto glass sheets, and by scraping and scratching the sifted
black glass dust, the figures take form. The glass panel is then fired
in an electric kiln at temperatures up to 1600°F. The time consuming
process of my artwork helps me to focus and experiment with the ways
and means to depict the poetry, symbolism and magic of the everyday.
I work hard to create some kind of meaning out of my artworks –
a dream-state surrealism filled with haunted, subtle images that hint
at questions. The work has an intrinsic meaning for me, but they remain
open to multiple interpretations. I count on the viewer to draw their
own conclusions, and find meanings beyond those I put there.
Art critic and author F. Lennox Campello wrote about my
work:…”the images depict a stream of consciousness world,
where they straddle a border between reality and dream, past life and
present …Seamless construction and simplicity of form contrasts
with the detail of Janis' images. He integrates elements of light, color
and also sequence within his scenes, suspending them within layers of
fused glass …the end results of this complicated process are spectacular
glass drawings. That the substrate is glass just adds a visually "different"
treat to the eyes, and a three dimensionality that paper cannot deliver...Through
the layering of elements that react to perceptions of gender, culture
and time, Janis attempts to generate compositions that serve as means
of immersion into an emotional tenor …However, it is through these
objects and environments that Janis begins to understand the indeterminate
and ever-changing aspects of our humanity.” Campello, F. Lennox,
100 Artists of Washington, DC, Schiffer Publishing, USA, 2011.
As Co-Director and instructor at the Washington
Glass School in Washington, DC, I have also have taught workshops
at Penland School of Craft in North Carolina, California’s Bay
Area Glass Institute and at Istanbul’s Glass Furnace in Turkey.
I was recently awarded a Fulbright Fellowship, and starting Spring of
2012, I will be at the University of Sunderland in the United Kingdom.
I first began working with glass as an architect in Australia,
where my projects received international awards. My architectural discipline
is evident my precise and detailed ‘sgraffito’ technique.
The Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass named me a “Rising
Star” at the 2011 GlassWeekend Biennial. I was named ‘Outstanding
Emerging Artist 2009’ by the Florida Glass Art Alliance, and was
awarded the 2010 California Saxe Fellowship. My work is in the permanent
collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Gallery Representation:
Maurine Littleton Gallery
1667 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20007
www.littletongallery.com